Outline

Overview

This unit introduces students to the roles and responsibilities of lawyers in upholding ethical professional practice within the Australian law and justice system. Students will develop their capacity to exercise ethical professional judgment and critically reflect on and connect their personal values to legal professional values and ethical frameworks. By applying an integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity, students will critically consider the role of legal professionals in addressing the ongoing effects of colonisation. Students will learn to apply lawyers’ responsibilities and the mechanisms for holding lawyers accountable to scenarios that raise ethical questions and challenges in professional contexts. Additionally, students will critically evaluate the impacts of social, economic, and technological changes on the practice and regulation of the legal profession.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	LAWS1025
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	LAWS2013
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Karina Murray, karina.murray@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2026

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Written exam	Final exam (on-campus) (50%) Written examination (2 hours + 30 minutes reading time)	50%	Formal exam period	2 hours	AI prohibited
Outcomes assessed:
Contribution	Structured Class Participation (20%) Ongoing in class + 1 assigned activity	20%	Ongoing	Ongoing / 1 assigned activity	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Out-of-class quiz	Early feedback task (0%) Multiple choice quiz	0%	Week 03 Due date: 13 Mar 2026 at 23:59	20 minutes	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Written work	Legal practice task and reflection (30%) Written response	30%	Week 05 Due date: 25 Mar 2026 at 23:59 Closing date: 08 Apr 2026	1500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
= early feedback task ?

Early feedback task

This unit includes an early feedback task, designed to give you feedback prior to the census date for this unit. Details are provided in the Canvas site and your result will be recorded in your Marks page. It is important that you actively engage with this task so that the University can support you to be successful in this unit.

Assessment summary

Early Feedback Task (EFT) (0%): As part of our commitment to student success, this unit includes an Early Feedback Task designed to provide students with insight into their understanding of unit content. It serves as a diagnostic tool to identify areas of strength and/or areas needing improvement, supporting students to stay on track for successful completion of the unit.

The Early Feedback Task for this unit is an online quiz consisting of 10 multiple-choice questions and will be tailored to reflect key concepts and test learning from Weeks 1-2. The task must be completed via the unit Canvas site no later than 11.59PM Friday 13 March 2026 (Sydney Australia time). Students will be provided with automated feedback at the close of the EFT period.

Class participation (20%)

Communication and collaboration in seminars are essential to success in this Unit. Your participation mark will consist of two components. General class participation (worth 10 marks) will be assessed each week based on your preparation and engagement in seminars. Additionally, students will be required to complete a collaborative task in seminars (worth 10 marks). Further instructions and the marking criteria for participation are available in Canvas.

Disability Academic Plans: The Law School has inherent requirements for its Bachelor of Laws, Juris Doctor and Master of Laws courses. A detailed explanation of the Law School’s inherent requirements can be found here: Inherent requirements

Inherent requirements relevant to Participation assessment include:

Attending classes and contribute to collaborative learning and debate;
Engaging in respectful communication with others;
Participating collaboratively and openly in diverse groups across different cultural boundaries; and
Communicating orally using clear standard Australian English, to convey knowledge and critical analysis of legal and interdisciplinary materials.

For students with Disability Academic Plans, adjustments must be reasonable and cannot compromise the academic integrity of a course or professional obligations. Reasonable adjustments are provided to assist students to achieve the inherent requirements, not as a substitute for them. This means that, for the Participation assessment, reasonable adjustments cannot include an alternative assessment which does not allow the student to demonstrate the inherent requirements relevant to the Participation assessment.

Legal practice task and reflection (30%)

Students will respond in writing (1500 words) to a legal practice scenario. The scenario will be released on Friday 27 February 2026 at 09:00 (Sydney, Australia time) and will be due on Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 11:59PM (Sydney, Australia time).

Simple extensions: A simple extension is an informal arrangement that you can receive for any non-exam written task, as outlined in Part 14, clause 81 and 81A of the Coursework Policy (pdf, 584KB). Automated simple extensions are available for this task. More information is available at: Simple extensions

Final examination (50%)

The final assessment is an open-book, supervised in-person exam held in the formal examination period. The exam is of 2 hour duration plus 30 minutes reading time. The exam will be scenario based raising legal and ethical issues in practice. The first part of the exam will require students to demonstrate their problem-solving skills, identifying issues arising in the facts applying the law (40%). The second part of the exam will give students the opportunity to reflect on ethical issues in practice (10%).

Word limit penalty: Where assessments have word limits, these should be strictly adhered to. Markers will STOP MARKING once the assessment reaches the word limit. The total word count for any written assessments will exclude all footnote references and bibliographies, and exclude acknowledgements of assistance from editors, automated writing tools or generative AI (where use is permitted).

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your unit convenor. A link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at Referencing and Citation Styles: AGLC4.

Special consideration: Successful grants of Special Consideration may involve alternative tasks, as appropriate.

Assessment requirements to pass a unit of study: To pass this Unit, students must:

Attempt all assessment items. A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study. Please note that as the EFT is an early diagnostic tool, this task is not included in the final grade for the unit;
Attend at least 70% of the seminars in the Unit (this means at least 14 out of the 20 seminars) in line with the The University of Sydney Law School Resolutions: Coursework Awards cl 11; and
Achieve a mark of at least 50% overall for the Unit.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2021 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	• Completely answers the question. • Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. • Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). • Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. • Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	• Completely answers the question. • Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. • Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. • Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. • Generally well expressed and free from errors. • Has a clear structure and is well articulated.
Credit	65 - 74	• Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. • Contains no significant errors • Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. • Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. • Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	• Identifies the key issues, but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. • Contains some significant errors. • Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. • Offers descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. • Superficial use of material, and may display a tendency to paraphrase. • Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. • Adequate expression. • Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	• Does not answer the question. • Contains significant or numerous errors. • Few or no identifiable arguments. • Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. • Lack of research or analysis. • Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. • Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see Guide to Grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, without an approved extension, will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per 24 hours or part thereof, after the due time on the due date. For example, a submission after the due time specified in the assessment summary but before the same time the following day will attract a 10% penalty.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introducing Lawyers, Justice, and Ethics: who are lawyers; the law of lawyering; the ethical framework	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 02	The Legal Profession: regulating the profession; legal education; admission to the profession	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 03	Conduct, Complaints, and Discipline: the Legal Profession Uniform Law; the co-regulatory regime	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 04	The Lawyer's Duties Matrix: the lawyer-client relationship; the retainer; costs; and duty to advise	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 05	The Duty of Loyalty: confidentiality; privilege; conflicts of interest; and the duty to account	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 07	The Duty of Competence: scope and liability; technological competence; advocates' immunity	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 08	The Fundamental Duty: duty to the court, the administration of justice; duty to the profession and others; undertakings	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 10	Justice and the Profession: access to justice; systemic issues; Aboriginal kinship and the legal system	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 11	The Profession of the Future: current issues; positive professionalism; professional development	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 12	Revision and Exam Preparation: case reading; problem solving	Seminar (4 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of classes to satisfy the pass requirements for this unit. Failure to meet this requirement will result in an Absent Fail grade being recorded as the student’s result for this unit (see The University of Sydney Law School Resolutions: Coursework Awards cl 11).

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Textbook: John Littrich and Karina Murray, Lawyers in Australia (Federation Press, 5th ed, 2025)

The full reading guide will be available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Understand and critically evaluate lawyers’ professional responsibilities and the mechanisms for holding lawyers to account.
LO2. Analyse and evaluate the impacts of social, economic, and technological changes on the practice of law and regulation of the Australian legal profession.
LO3. Construct persuasive arguments in applying legal professional rules and ethical frameworks to problem scenarios across different practice contexts.
LO4. Critically reflect on personal and professional values and develop an integrated ethical framework to guide the exercise of professional judgment.
LO5. Explain the access to justice needs identified by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and critically reflect on the role of lawyers in addressing the ongoing effects of colonisation.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Student feedback on the first offering of this unit has been incorporated into changes, particularly for the ordering of topics.

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

LAWS1029: Lawyers, Justice and Ethics

Semester 1, 2026 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links